Specter At The Feast (LP)

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Currently Unavailable

$29.98

SHIPS FREE in U.S.

Amoeba Review

03/18/2013

The atmospheric notes that begin “Firewalker,” the opening track to Black Rebel Motorcycle’s sixth album, let you know that this is a more somber affair than some of their previous work, which was known for its heavy distortion, driving beats and some of the heaviest basslines around. Unfortunately, BRMC’s lead singer, Robert Been, lost his father, The Call’s Michael Been, in 2010. Understandably, that loss casts a pall over Specter at the Feast, but there is still plenty of pulse to the album, on which the band successfully funnels their pain into a bold statement (the loss is felt by the whole band, for whom Michael Been was a sound engineer). “Let the Day Begin” throbs with familiar BRMC rumble, but in place of the menace the band previously exuded there is a life-affirming vibe that suits the band well, reminiscent of classic Verve. “Returning” pulls from the band’s shoegaze influences for a touching power ballad. “Lullaby” calls to mind the band’s largely acoustic third album, Howl, with the added atmospherics of their other work. The bluesy stomp of the band’s first and finest albums returns for “Hate the Taste,” a nicely bitter pub brawler, and they go for the full stadium effect on “Rival.” Though it’s a mixed bag soundwise, Specter at the Feast manages to cull its disparate vibes together and not wallow too much — one listen to the snarled “Teenage Disease” shows even 15 years in, BRMC aren’t gonna give up any time soon.